


Just a Nightmare

by lemon_juices



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Flash Bingo, Hallucinations, Hot Chocolate, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Steve is dead, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony is alive, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:35:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26255011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemon_juices/pseuds/lemon_juices
Summary: Some nights, Tony can’t tell what's real and fake anymore. Some nights, Tony can talk to Steve again.In which Steve dies in the final battle against Thanos and Tony misses him. He’s not going crazy, right?
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Kudos: 21
Collections: Tony Stark Flash Bingo





	Just a Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Just a Nightmare  
> Card Number: 027  
> Square: Nightmares  
> Ship: Past Steve Rogers/Tony Stark  
> Rating: General Audiences  
> Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

It was another weary summer night in New York, when the air was thick and muggy, something closer resembling soup. It spoke of incoming rain, and the residents still awake below puttered around aimlessly.

Up above, in the large gleaming tower a man lay in bed with a soft blue glow in his chest. With a gasp, he lunged up.

“FRIDAY?” he asked hoarsely.

“The time 12:48 AM sir.” said the calm voice of his AI. Tony blinked a few times. Laying back down on his bed, he finally gave in to the fact he wouldn’t fall asleep. Sitting up, he slid to the edge of the mattress and slipped his feet into soft slippers.

Making his way out of his personal room, he headed to the kitchen. “FRIDAY make me a warm cup of…”  _ caffeine isn’t good for you Tony  _ “... hot chocolate with cinnamon.” he decided.  _ Just like how Steve used to make it. _

Waiting for his mug to fill, Tony grabbed at the handle and turned around and gasped, almost dropping his mug and spilling a bit of the steamy hot cocoa over the sides. There, right at his kitchen counter stood Steve Rogers. Blinking a few times, Tony shook his head and moved past him. The  _ ghost  _ hallucination reache for him.

“Tony.” it said pleadingly. Tony simply sipped his drink and walked towards the living room, and sat himself on the large sofa and toyed with the fluffy blanket draped over the cushions.

“ _ Tony _ .” it said again. When Tony didn’t respond it gave him sad puppy eyes, and Tony finally raised his head.

“What the  _ fuck  _ do you want?” he snapped. The apparation flinched back.

“Tony I miss you.” it said gently. “I love you so much, I’m sorry that we didn’t-” Tony flung a couch cushion at it and watched it pass through Steve.

“You’re dead.” he said, in a numb kind of way. The ghost smiled.

  
“No I’m not. I’m right here.” it insisted. Tony rolled his eyes.

“You aren’t  _ real _ .” he said. The ghost sat itself down next to Tony and put a hand on his face. Tony shivered, maybe it was his imagination but it certainly felt real, heavy with weight and rough against his skin. He found himself leaning into the touch, then flinched back.

_ Don’t worry Mister Stark, it sounds like you are experiencing tactile hallucinations. I’ll prescribe you some medication for it and we’ll talk next week, alright? _

“Tony.” the hallucination said sadly again. “Tony Tony Tony.”

“Can you for the love of god shut up?” asked Tony, setting his drink down on the glass table with a clink and covering his ears with his hands. “It’s always the same thing. It’s always “Tony” or “I love you Tony” it’s not fucking real you’re dead you’re dead YOU’RE DEAD!” he screamed, ending with a heave. Steve simply sat there and listened.

“Don’t worry Tony, I’m here for you.” he  _ it  _ said in a calm voice. “Things will get better soon.”

“But they  _ won’t _ .” replied Tony with an exasperated voice. “You’re gone. It’s not real. This is all just another fucked up section of my brain that’s making me  _ think  _ you’re there but you really aren’t-”

He was cut off by a soft press of a kiss to his lips. Tony sighed as Steve’s lips melted over his own, and he pressed up against him. It was almost like he could feel the warm body, as he found himself wrapping his arms around Steve, but suddenly they passed down, cutting through his body in half. Tony was taken back to reality.

“Fuck.” he said, running a hand through his hair. He stood up. “I can’t deal with this.” 

  
Taking a few steps away, Tony twisted himself and searched for the bottle of pills he had been given by the nice man at the counter. Taking out two, he popped them in his mouth and rubbed a hand against his weary face. 

Heading to his bedroom, he ignored Steve following behind him, ignored him as he crawled into his sheets, ignored the imaginary dip in the mattress when Steve laid next to him, ignored the breath of his dead lover against his face.

When Tony woke up, the sun was shining bright and warm through his windows, and he got up.

“FRIDAY, did anything happen last night?” he asked, hesitatingly.

A brief moment of hesitation. “No sir.” she said. Tony let out a breath of relief he didn’t realize he was holding.

There was no Steve. It was all a bad nightmare, he  _ wasn’t _ hallucinating and he most certainly wasn’t going mad. Cheered up, he went along with his day, ordering breakfast and brushing his teeth. 

In the living room, a cold cup of hot chocolate sat on the table, forgotten. 

**Author's Note:**

> My first time doing a bingo... huzzah!


End file.
